Man convicted of killing day laborer

A Costa Mesa man faces up to 40 years to life in prison after being convicted Wednesday of shooting a day laborer in an alley behind Center Street in Costa Mesa in 2006.

Francisco Sierra, 23, was convicted of second-degree murder with a sentencing enhancement for using a gun when he shot Andres Norberto Hernandez Roxon, 38, several times in an alley behind the 800 block of Center Street.

In a trial that lasted just more than a week, Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Matt Murphy successfully argued that Sierra was not defending himself when he shot Roxon on June 10, 2006.

Police were stumped by the mysterious death, which they determined from the outset did not appear to be gang-related.

People in the area of the shooting said few recognized Roxon and guessed he must have been new to the area.

The shooting happened overnight, with a bystander finding Roxon’s body about 5:30 a.m.

Roxon’s death was a part of a violent period in Costa Mesa, in which police dealt with four fatal shootings in just more than six months.

Sierra is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 21 in Orange County Superior Court’s Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. The murder charge plus the enhancement means Sierra could face up to 40 years to life in state prison.